Christus Rex Schola Cantorum

01/19/2024

Purchased by St. Michael the Archangel Parish in 2009 as a "temporary" instrument until a larger, permanent organ could be commissioned, this modest 12-stop tracker organ serves admirably in our new church. The organ was built in 1971 by John Brombaugh & Associates for St. James Episcopal Church in....

11/13/2023

Pasi Organ Builders, Opus 21 will be built for Hope Lutheran Church in Shawnee, Kansas in 2011. It will be a 2-manual, 24 stop organ

08/03/2023

Print copies of a student missal and hymnal to be used at Christ the King School in Kansas City, KS

07/29/2023

The third part of this book is a hymnal for use in the classroom as well as at Mass. The school uses the Faith and Life theology textbooks published by Ignatius Press. For each chapter, the Teachers Guides have suggested hymns that tie in with the lessons. In this way, hymn singing becomes part of regular school routine, rather than restricted to music class and Mass. The classes can also take some time to more closely examine the hymn text, as they would analyze any poem. Many Catholic musicians have wrung their hands wondering how to strengthen congregational singing. Commonly held panaceas include having a strong singer at the microphone (which tends to overwhelm, not support, congregational singing), or trying to pick songs that "everybody knows" or believed to be more appealing to youth. These are short-time remedies, akin to putting a band-aid on a gaping flesh wound. The only long-lasting solution is to build a singing community, and that takes years, even generations, to foster. It helps that I used the Faith and Life books as a guide, rather than "the hymns that Doug thinks you should know." The Faith and Life series suggestions are indexed according to the Adoremus Hymnal, also published by Ignatius Press. While I have much respect for the Adoremus Hymnal, it's not quite fitting for our needs. Besides, our parish has plenty of copies of OCP's Journeysongs hymnal in excellent condition; replacing them during a budget crunch isn't going to happen. By including the hymns in this book, teachers will not have to hunt them down in other sources (or ask me to!). The teacher can just ask the students to get out their books and turn to the right page. By having them in a hardbound book, rather than in loose-leaf sheets, the hymns will better last in memories, and the kids may return to them on their own. Ideally, I could imagine a student nearing their completion of their CTK school career and identifying with so many hymns in the book, that they will ask if they can keep it when they graduate. Then we'll know we have made some progress toward building that beautiful singing community.

Print copies of a student missal and hymnal to be used at Christ the King School in Kansas City, KS

07/26/2023

https://adoremus.org/2020/01/the-church-stands-or-falls-with-the-liturgy-benedict-xvis-vision-for-church-renewal/?fbclid=IwAR2fDZzdlaAO1sIz5y4CP_RTJNS5KovKGa-xhLjSkOPSpaOcd6h4C2ZLqdk

When the Liturgy Stands Tall, the Church renews herself and the world, says Father Daniel Cardó, who sees Benedict XVI’s liturgical diagnosis as a timely—and timeless—cure for what ails us all.